Are you familiar with the Spanish preposition hacia? While its most common translation is "toward(s)," whether referring to direction or one's attitude, it can mean different things in different contexts, such as "approximately" or "about" when referring to time. Let's explore these meanings further with a multitude of examples from Yabla's Spanish video library. 

Hacia to Indicate Movement in a Particular Direction

When referring to movement with a particular direction or destination, the Spanish preposition hacia can function as the equivalent of not only the English "toward(s)" but also additional prepositions like "for" or "to." Let's take a look at several examples.

Fue una mañana que yo iba caminando hacia la facultad

It was one morning when I was walking toward my college department [building],

Caption 5, Soledad Raspi

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para animarles y desearles suerte antes de su salida hacia el campo.

to encourage them and wish them luck before their departure for the field.

Caption 82, Viajando con Fermín Final Copa del Rey

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Hoy fue extraditado hacia los Estados Unidos, otro miembro del cartel de Medellín,

Today, another member of the Medellin cartel was extradited to the United States,

Caption 6, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 13

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Hacia When Used With Direction Words

When used with direction words like abajo (down), adelante, (forward), arriba (up) or atrás (back), or directions like norte (north), sur (south), etc., hacia can be thought of like the English suffix "ward(s)." Let's take a look:

siempre tiene que ir hacia arriba, y cuando haces un trazo grueso, siempre tiene que ir hacia abajo.

it always has to go upward, and when you do a thick stroke, it always has to go downward.

Captions 34-36, Adriana Lettering - Part 2

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Y vamos a fondear toda la isla por la costa... yendo hacia el norte.

And we're going to drop anchor all around the island along the coast... going northwards.

Caption 11, El Trip Ibiza

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It should be noted that the translations for Spanish sentences like these could also be expressed in English without "ward(s)," for example, one could simply say "it has to go up" or "down" or "going north."

Hacia to Indicate Direction Without Movement

In the absence of movement, the Spanish preposition hacia is frequently used to mean "in the direction of" when indicating orientation or location. Let's take a look:  

de manera que hacia la cama también tenemos otra puerta corredera,

so that towards the bed, we also have another sliding door,

Caption 51, Viajando con Fermín Caravaning - Part 3

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Hacia to Describe an Attitude About Something

With varying translations like "toward(s)" "to," "for" and more, the Spanish preposition hacia can additionally express one's point of view with regards to someone or something.

y sobre todo mucha gratitud hacia todos los que elegimos visitar este hermoso rincón de Andalucía.

and, above all, a lot of gratitude for all of us who choose to visit this beautiful corner of Andalusia.

Captions 47-48, Viajando con Fermín El Día del Turista de Mijas

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que encuentras un público muy abierto hacia ti,

when you encounter an audience that's very open to you,

Caption 37, Circo Berlín Lucas - Part 2

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yo sentí cierto rechazo hacia ella,

I felt a kind of rejection towards her

Caption 33, Soledad Los prejuicios

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Hacia to Indicate Approximate Time 

When used to talk about time, the Spanish preposition hacia means "around," "approximately" or "about."

Iré hacia las cinco.

I'll go around five. 

Actualmente se celebran manifestaciones del orgullo anualmente por todo el mundo, hacia finales de junio,

Currently, pride demonstrations take place annually throughout the world, towards the end of June,

Captions 55-56, Maoli La revuelta de Stonewall

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Hacía (With an Accent)

To conclude today's lesson, we'll mention that you shouldn't confuse the Spanish preposition hacia with hacía (with an accent), the extremely frequently-employed imperfect tense of the verb hacer, which means "to make" or "do." Let's see it in a couple of captions:

¿Usted qué hacía en el salón de ese profesor? ¿Ah?

What were you doing in that teacher's classroom? Huh?

Caption 19, Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal Capítulo 1 - Part 6

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porque mi abuela hacía muchas croquetas.

because my grandma used to make a lot of croquettes.

Caption 37, Con Marta por Madrid El tapeo - Part 1

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We hope that this lesson has shed some light on several of the many contexts in which the Spanish preposition hacia can be used as well as many of its translations. Don't forget to write us with your questions and suggestions.

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